Khayriland
History For over 300 years the Khūryyah were one of the more wealthy prosperous Muslim tribes along the banks of the Euphrates. They occupied the old Mesopotamian forts along the river, and by putting down piracy managed to secure their trade routs to An Najaf, An Nāşirīyah and Al Basrah, mainly for export of expensive gems and jewels. Soon the Khūryyah gold coin was a good tender along the Euphrates, and their precious gems were sold far abroad. Modern State In 2008 modernization was sweeping Mesopotamia, and a nominal republic for the Khūryyah people was established in small enclaves on the river traditionally occupied by Khūryyah tribes, this was established after General Muhammad Hasim launched a military coup d'état which swept the old tribal dynasty away, and soon thereafter he declared the Khayriland Arab Republic. After declaring himself 'Head of State' Hasim then aligned the new republic with Invicta, and managed to secure hard cash reserves from his allies by selling them technology at a comparative cost advantage. With this hard currency streaming into his coffers, Hasim hired Invicta contractors and experts to develop modern infrastructure, and bridges, roads and other infrastructure were built. Thousands of people who previously lived in mud huts along the river were attracted to the new nation by its modern apartment buildings. With the influx of foreign modernization, particularly in medicine, the population grew to over 20,000, and infant mortality and life expectancy was doubled. Economy Hasim soon announced a policy of economic liberalization through an 'open door policy', and foreign Invicta investment was encouraged to develop the state further and bring in desperately needed foreign currency. The technology industry, which builds technology at a comparative advantage for export, was privatized and subsequently streamlined as 'Khūryyah Tech Industries', of which a 51% stake was owned by the Khayri state and the remainder by Invicta foreign firms. As a small nation with few labor laws, the Tech industry soon developed a advantage compared due to this cheap labor, and manufacturing of small appliances found open markets in Invicta nations. To this day the Khayri economy is heavily export-orientated (especially in low-technology), and also reliant on exploitation of cheap labor with low wages and conditions. Politics But with foreign technology came foreign politics, and feeling threatened General Hasim became increasingly autocratic, only trusting government positions to a clique of his closest family members. Growing critics accused the Hasim regime of corruption, and of siphoning off over 50% of the Tech imports revenue into private bank accounts located in Europe. Furthermore he and his family have often been sighted living it up in yachts and expensive villas in Europe, while neglecting his own people. Expensive luxury goods from around the world are channeled into Hasim's family palace, and an incident involving Hasim's son and several cocaine-fueled rapes in the capital fueled public perception of an excessive palace lifestyle. Faced with growing opposition, General Hasim banned trade unions and opposition political groups, and soon thereafter declared martial law. Khayriland has been under martial law ever since. The legislation was last extended when it was due to expire; plans were in place to replace them with new sedition laws but after public protests, but these plans were shelved. Martial law allows the government to detain anyone deemed to be threatening state security for renewable 45-day periods without court orders and also give military courts the power to try civilians. Public demonstrations are banned under the legislation.